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Virginia Gun Laws

Legal information provided is for reference and not legal advice. Consult an attorney for specific legal concerns.

Virginia Gun Laws

Legal information provided is for reference and not legal advice. Consult an attorney for specific legal concerns.

Gun Control Laws in Virginia

The Commonwealth of Virginia has a long history with gun regulations. Its first General Assembly, in 1619, passed a gun control law making it a crime to provide arms to indigenous people. State regulation of firearms has changed over time. As in other states, Virginia gun control laws limit the ownership and carrying of certain weapons. Virginia laws also restrict who is permitted to own guns. For example, people convicted of a felony or who are subject to a protective order (restraining order) may not own or buy guns.

In recent years, the state enacted new measures aimed at preventing gun violence. This included a move toward universal background checks on firearm purchases and the passage of an extreme risk protective order law. Other laws sought to strengthen restrictions imposed on those convicted of domestic violence and encourage the safe storage of firearms.

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Age Requirements and Background Checks

  • In Virginia, you must be 18 to buy a rifle or shotgun and 21 to buy a handgun.
  • A valid identification, such as a driver’s license, is required.
  • There is no requirement to get a permit to buy a firearm, but a background check is mandatory to verify that you are not disqualified from having a firearm.

Assault Weapons

  • Virginia does not have a broad ban on assault weapons but limits the ownership and use of certain guns.

Concealed Handgun Permit

  • Those seeking a concealed handgun permit in Virginia apply to their local circuit court. Both residents and nonresidents can apply for a permit.
  • Proof of competency in handling a handgun is required, which can be shown by completing a hunter safety training course or a firearms training program sponsored by the National Rifle Association (NRA), the National Concealed Carry Association, or the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services.
  • Concealed carry permit holders from another state may qualify in Virginia. The state police provide information on what out-of-state permits Virginia will recognize.

Concealed Carry Without a Permit

Virginia law provides certain situations and locations where a person may carry a concealed handgun without a permit. These include:

  • A person’s home or the curtilage of the home
  • Their place of business
  • Traveling to or from a shooting range, firearms exhibition, or training course, with weapons unloaded and securely wrapped during transport
  • Carrying weapons between home and place of purchase or repair, with guns unloaded and securely wrapped during transport
  • Carrying a handgun in a private motor vehicle secured in a container or compartment
  • Engaged in hunting

Open Carry and Location Restrictions

Virginia law allows open carry of firearms, but with restrictions:

  • Firearms are not allowed on school grounds unless for educational purposes or safety reasons.
  • Firearms are prohibited in courthouses.
  • A loaded shotgun or rifle may not be carried in a vehicle on a public highway unless exempted.

Prohibited Locations for Firearms

Under most circumstances, firearms (open or concealed) are not allowed in:

  • Polling locations and election board buildings during election functions
  • Capitol building and Capitol Square in Richmond
  • Places of worship (except in cases of good and sufficient reason)
  • Courthouses
  • Air carrier airport terminals
  • Childcare centers and preschools
  • Public, private, or religious elementary, middle, and high schools
  • School transportation
  • Where prohibited on private property by the owner
  • Local government buildings, parks, and recreation centers

Relevant Statutes

  • Carrying loaded firearms in public areas prohibited — Section 18.2–287.4
  • Use of machine gun for aggressive purposes — Section 18.2–290
  • Registration of machine guns — Section 18.2–295
  • Possession or use of “sawed-off” shotgun or rifle — Section 18.2–300
  • Carrying concealed weapons; exceptions; penalty — Section 18.2–308
  • Carrying a concealed handgun with a permit — Section 18.2–308.01
  • Application for a concealed handgun permit — Section 18.2–308.02
  • Disqualifications for a concealed handgun permit — Section 18.2–308.09
  • Possession of a firearm, stun weapon, or other weapons on school property prohibited — Section 18.2–308.1
  • Manufacture, import, sale, transfer, or possession of a plastic firearm prohibited — Section 18.2–308.5
  • Manufacture, importation, sale, possession, transfer, or transportation of trigger activators prohibited — Section 18.2–308.5:1
  • Possession or transportation of certain firearms by those under 18 — Section 18.2–308.7

Illegal Firearms

The following items are illegal in Virginia:

  • Plastic firearms
  • Trigger activators (devices that allow a semi-automatic firearm to shoot more than one shot with a single pull of the trigger)
  • Striker 12 guns, commonly called “streetsweepers,” or any similar semi-automatic folding stock shotgun with a spring tension drum magazine capable of holding 12 shotgun shells
  • Spring guns
  • Sawed-off shotguns and sawed-off rifles (in most circumstances)

Waiting Period

There is no waiting period for purchasing a firearm.

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Who May Not Own Firearms

The following people can’t own a firearm in Virginia:

  • A person under 18 (under most circumstances)
  • A person convicted of a misdemeanor assault and battery offense against a family or household member in the last three years
  • A person acquitted of a crime by reason of insanity and committed to the custody of the Commissioner of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services (unless rights have been restored)
  • A person who has been adjudicated legally incompetent or incapacitated (unless rights have been restored)
  • A person who was involuntarily admitted to a facility or ordered to mandatory outpatient treatment, was the subject of temporary detention and subsequently agreed to voluntary admission, or was found incompetent to stand trial and likely to remain so for the foreseeable future (unless rights have been restored)
  • A person who is subject to a restraining order or protective order that prohibits possession of firearms
  • A person who, within a 36-consecutive-month period, has been convicted of two misdemeanor offenses for possession of a controlled substance
  • A person subject to an emergency substantial risk order or a substantial risk order
  • A person who has been convicted of a felony
  • A person who was adjudicated delinquent as a juvenile 14 years of age or older for specific violent crimes
  • A person who is under 29 and who was adjudicated delinquent as a juvenile 14 or older for an offense that would be a felony if committed by an adult
  • A person who is not a citizen of the U.S. and not lawfully present in the U.S.
  • A person otherwise prohibited under federal law; see 18 U.S.C. Section 922(g)

Licensing and Registration

  • Virginia does not require a person to have a license to buy or have a firearm.
  • There are no requirements to register a firearm in Virginia except for machine guns.

Concealed Carry License Requirements

To get a concealed handgun permit, a person must:

  • Be 21 or older
  • Show competence with a handgun by completing an approved firearms course or alternative provided by law
  • Not be ineligible to have a firearm under state or federal law (for example, a person subject to a protective order)
  • Not have been convicted of two or more misdemeanors within the five years immediately preceding the application if one of the misdemeanors was a Class 1 misdemeanor
  • Not be addicted to, or an unlawful user or distributor of, marijuana, synthetic cannabinoids, or any controlled substance
  • Not have been convicted of driving while intoxicated or public drunkenness within the three years immediately preceding the application
  • Be a citizen or lawfully admitted for permanent residence in the United States
  • Not have been discharged from the armed forces of the United States under dishonorable conditions
  • Not be a fugitive from justice
  • Not be a person the court finds is likely to use a weapon unlawfully or negligently to endanger others
  • Not have been convicted of, or have a charge pending for, any assault, assault and battery, sexual battery, discharging of a firearm, or brandishing of a firearm within the three years immediately preceding the application
  • Not have been convicted of or have a charge pending for stalking
  • Not have previous juvenile convictions or adjudications of delinquency based on an offense that would have been a felony if committed by an adult (this does not apply to people who have completed a term of service of no less than two years in the Armed Forces of the United States and who received an honorable discharge)
  • Not have had mental health treatment or substance abuse treatment in a residential setting within five years
  • Not have a conviction for certain drug offenses within the three years immediately preceding the application

State Gun Laws